South East Forestry Partnerships Program (SEFPP)

The South East Forestry Partnerships Program (SEFPP) is a State Government assistance package accessible to applicants that may provide a dedicated service to, or are located or intending to locate in the south east of South Australia.

The program aims to:

encourage a viable and strong timber sawmilling industry

create and secure jobs in the state’s south east.

Successful projects needed to be consistent with the recommendations in the stage 2 report from the Cellulose Fibre Value Chain Study, and to match the funding at least dollar for dollar.

All funds have now been allocated to projects, which are at different stages of completion.

Funding

Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) is overseeing 12 projects being funded from the program which will generate more than $63 million of total investment in the regions forestry industry.

Below is a list of funded projects in chronological order:

McDonnell Industries - $4,270,831 to produce a more efficient and modern processing facility.

Roundwood Solutions - $237,000 for the second stage of the company's Long Preservation Optimiser line and significantly increasing its air drying storage area.

Timberlink Australia - $7.8 million towards a company proposal to significantly upgrade its Tarpeena sawmill to increase the company's sawlog cut to 575,000 cubic metres annually.

McDonnell Industries - $1,000,000 for the installation of equipment at their Mount Gambier sawmill, to enable processing of smaller diameter logs that would otherwise be exported.

Roundwood Solutions - $557,000 for the installation of a Precision Rounder Machine at Yahl to increase production of rounded outdoor bollards, posts and rails.

South East Pine Sales - $1,873,901 for a new softwood sawmill process with scanning and sawing optimisation capability, as well as the installation of a Light Organic Solvent Preservative timber treatment process.

Roundwood Solutions - $1,582,500 for a new combined gasifier and biochar plant to utilise wood residues from current operations such as sawdust, shavings and woodchips, to produce biochar and hot air. Hot air will be used to generate steam to dry posts. Biochar will be sold as a fertiliser-extender in local forest and agricultural markets.

H & L Scheidl - $1,000,000 for a new kiln drying facility and treatment plant that will value-add to existing products, expand Scheidl's market, and increase utilisation of forest products. The kiln will be heated by both solar energy and a bio-plant run on mill residues. The post peeling line will enable more posts to be produced.

Timberlink Australia - $1,115,000 for a new high speed board sorter, scanner, stacker and grading system to enable processing of more small log. The investment will allow the current Tarpeena green mill assets to run at maximum capacity.